Get OVER it!
So, I wake up this morning thinking to myself, what a great day. The sun is shining, I have my coffee (a must or the day just is not right!) and think about what a great start we had for the Playoffs last night. Every single game was an upset and the Coyotes were the only home team to win! WAY TO GO YOTES!!!
However, I made the mistake of reading the article in the local news, talking about the new lease agreement that was reached by the City of Glendale and Jerry Reinsdorff. Don’t get me wrong, the article itself was a good one, but I just have this habit of reading the comment section at the end, and sometimes it just really gets me riled up.
People, I have a news flash for you…. HOCKEY CAN SURVIVE IN THE DESERT! Yes there are fans here that will support the team. I am so sick and tired of reading idiotic posts talking about how there are no fans here for our team or (and I think this one is my favorite) the Coyotes are only in the playoffs because Gary Bettman wants to sell the team. Yeah, that’s it… the Yotes are not in the playoffs because they played incredibly this year, they did not earn the right by focusing and working hard to get where they are. No, apparently skill and hard-work have absolutely nothing to do with it. I have news for you, and I know this may come as a little bit of a shock, but NO TEAM in the NHL will step down in defeat and INTENTIONALLY lose games to make sure one particular team has a chance in the finals.
If there is anyone out there that truly believes that, then in my opinion, you don’t know much about Hockey.
To the Phoenix Coyotes: Have a blast and enjoy the ride boys! You deserve it!
WRONG!
There aren’t enough fans in the desert to support NHL hockey!
(You couldn’t even keep an ECHL team hydrated – the Phoenix RoadRunners!)
They refused to attend those games when tickets were FREE, and yet you think they’ll support them with public monies and tax levies?
Wake up already!
You people killed this franchise and now you have to step up and account for your failures.
Re-locating the Deserted Dogs now is in the best interests of Glendale, the NHL and the true hockey fans who have been shelling out the extra dough in order to keep the Phanless Coyotes afloat in the sand…
We’ve had 5 sell outs in row. Yes, attendance sucked in the beginning of the season due to serious off ice issues, but if you look at the numbers, there has been a steady growth of fans coming out and supporting the team as the season progressed. Something you may or may not know, Jerry Moyes sent out a letter to season ticket holders at the beginning of the year telling them they may not want to buy season tickets because they may or may not get their money back depending on what happened. Sorry, but this franchise is not dead. This team is finally showing the skill that we all knew they had and are living up to their potential. The only difference between what has happened with the Coyotes and other teams that have been in similar situations (like Pittsburgh) is the fact that our team actually filed for bankruptcy. I believe the tag line from Field of Dreams applies here… “If you build it, they will come” and that is exactly what is happening. Look at Chicago a few years ago. One of the Original Six, the Blackhawks, couldn’t give away tickets, but today, after the rebuilding process and tasting success, the fans have come back. Why is it impossible for Phoenix to have the same type of success?
The ‘Yotes were auctioned off through bankruptcy court and literally sold for pennies on the dollar to an entity that did not want them in the first place.
This was not the case in Chicago and Pittsburgh.
These two clubs had saviors who immediately stepped in and rebuilt their fan base.
They also did this without taxing the crap out of unsupportive residents in the area.
How many people do you think are gonna agree to what the Glendale City Council has approved concerning Jerry Reinsdorfs’ offer and his shady “out clause”?
That alone puts doubt in the air and may very well stir up controversy with those residents who do not or did not support hockey in the first place.
The ‘Yotes have not turned a profit since moving to Glendale and the NHL expects to lose an additional $20 million this season.
How much longer do you think this will be allowed to happen?
Do you honestly think those stats and facts are looking attractive to future potential buyers?
I must say that it does not, or else there would have been a few more buyers waiting in line to scoop up this once in a lifetime deal.
Take a good look at the states of Colorado and Minnesota: They both had NHL franchises previously, but could not sustain them.
The teams were then moved, sold, disbanded – what have ya – but then ultimately returned to those same states at a later date when the support they needed was there and it was known that they would indeed thrive in those locations.
From day one, the fans have said “build it and they will come”, but it still took 95% of this season to be played before those same fans finally decided that this team was up to their standards.
That is not fair to the team and it showed both the mentality of the fans and their utter lack of respect for those hard working players by doing such a thing.
Maybe one day in the future the vast majority of Arizona residents will have more interest in NHL hockey, but to date this is just not the case, and it has been proven over and over again.
In essence, what the fans have done to this team results in that the fans do not really deserve to have it…
…because they sure as hell haven’t shown the team the respect that they deserve.